Eyes without a face (les yeux sans visage) Sarah Torribio Litrus Advisor (insert line drawing here of a pair of eyes without a face)
Who here loves Billy Idol? I do, and I proudly admit it.

In the Bible, Peter has a crisis of courage and faith. While Jesus is on trial, heading toward crucifixion, Peter is asked three times whether he is a friend of Jesus Christ. Three times he denies knowing the man.This denial is in fulfillment of a prophecy by Jesus himself: "Truly I say to you that this very night, before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times."

While there is certainly much less at stake, let it be known I have never denied Billy Idol.

My love affair with the blonde rocker began when my sister made some astute choices as a junior member of the Columbia Record Club. I believe she got 13 records for a penny, or something ludicrous like that, after promising that she would later purchase a certain amount of records (yes, we're talking vinyl here, good old licorice pizza). She was 11, I was 9.

(insert picture of Billy Idol here) Among her top-notch selections was Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell." I was particularly impressed by "Catch My Fall," still searing "Flesh for Fantasy."

arguably my favorite song in Idol's catalogue, and the But there was and remains something endlessly mysterious about the song "Eyes Without a Face."

You've got an eerily soft, childlike voice singing along with the chorus: "(les yeux san visage) eyes without a face."

You've got forlorn pronouncements of a relationship's defeat:

"I'm all out of hope
One more bad dream could bring a fall
When I'm far from home
Don't call me on the phone
To tell me you're alone
It's easy to deceive
It's easy to tease
But hard to get release. . .

I spend so much time
Believing all the lies
To keep the dream alive
Now it makes me sad
It makes me mad at truth
For loving what was you"

And then Billy really breaks it down, singing about a
bad, bad person, incapable of morality but painfully
 capable of breaking his heart:

"When you hear the music you make a dip
Into someone else's pocket then make a slip.
Steal a car and go to Las Vegas oh, the gigolo pool.
Hanging out by the state line,
Turning holy water into wine
Drinkin' it down
I'm on a bus on a psychedelic trip
Reading murder books tryin to stay hip.
I'm thinkin' of you you're out there so
Say your prayers.
Say your prayers.
Say your prayers.

So yeah, I like Billie Idol. The angelic face. The
sneering lip thing while he sings, like Elvis after ingesting too many amphetamines. Songs like "Dancing With Myself" so memorable that pat terms like New Wave and 80s music undermine their worth.

So last night, during an insomniac hour, I started thinking about eyes without a face, about eyes in general. They do say a lot.

My favorite comedy duo, Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, are wonderful examples. Look closely.

(insert pic of Richard Pryor here) Richard Pryor's eyes always look terrified. The guy was in a constant state of fight or flight. The fact that he managed to be so brave and to stick it out despite it all is a testament to his strength.

Gene Wilder has the saddest eyes you'll ever see. And indeed, his life has had very sad moments, from the death of his mother from heart disease as a child, to the death of his wife Gilda Radner, to his own battle with cancer. The fact that someone with such sadness inside made so many people laugh is a testament to Wilder's grace.

(insert pic of Gilda Radner here) And dipping into the same stream of consciousness, the eyes of "Saturday Night Live" alumna Gilda Radner who was married to Wilder before she succumbed to cancer are some of the softest ever. They seem to say, "Of course, you can hurt me, but why? Let's be friends instead."

Whose eyes do you like or dislike? Whose eyes without a face speak volumes?